Part 2 and the French health care system

You may remember that I strained my left hamstring way back in the beginning walking in the rain and mud. By the time I am writing about I had a huge bruise on the back of my left leg which went from above my shorts hem to below my knee. So, before dinner, which we made, I was walking around like normal. During dinner everyone was talking in French so I had completely tuned out and was eating when suddenly I notice that everyone was talking and then looking at me, and then talked some more and then looked at me, etc. Axel explained that these were a bunch of nurses (the women who didn't have reservations and wouldn't leave)and they were VERY worried about my leg, and thought that I ought to see a doctor! I tried to talk them out of it as I bruise very easily now but they kept right on it and in a while they had both Axel and me worried. A. and I went out to talk it over but the next thing I knew one of the nurses who spoke a little English told me that it was out of my hands; they had decided that I needed to see a doctor and had called the mayor of the district. The mayor showed up and it was decided that he would take me to the doctor, NO, can't do that because of liability concerns, so they call the paramedics. This is out in the boonies and the paramedics were eating their Sqturday evening meal drinking a little wine and needless to say took their time showing up. When they came they started towards me with a portable EKG machine and that is where I said NO, NO!! So they put A. and me in the ambulance to take me to the doctor. Axel was the only one who could translate. We got to the doctor who was just a delightful guy and he said what I already knew which was that I had ripped a muscle or tendon a little and due to the medication I take there was a huge bruise. If it didn't hurt too much, he said that I should walk! Then the dr. got us into his car and took us on a tour of the area while taking us back to the Gite. He explained the facts to the nurses, which finally shut them up and it only cost me 63.50 Euros which wasn't all that bad considering that I never made a single phone call or consented to any of this. Anyway, the mayor was still there and told us that he made 150,000 liters of red wine each year which got Axel in action and he bought a bunch wholesale to be sent home to Norway. So, I can say with some expertise that the French medical system is doing fine and Dr. Monet is one really nice guy.